A Different Path
by AncientPowersThree
Summary: Every choice we make affects our destiny. So what happens when one Ranger's destiny is forever changed by a choice she didn't make?
1. Chapter 1

Andros looked miserable, sitting there staring out at the passing stars. Ashley silently sat next to him. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew there was a possibility that he would refuse to talk to her, to retract into himself. But then again she really cared about him.

"Andros, what's bothering you?" she asked, getting his attention by placing her hand atop his.

Andros started as Ashley's hand went over his own. Ever since he found out about Karone being Astrenoma, he had been avoiding Ashley lately, and he had hated himself for it. Besides even avoiding her, he had almost been mean, when only weeks before he had been more than friendly…and almost seemed like he had wanted to be more than friends with Ashley. Despite all of this, she was there trying to see what was wrong with him. Despite the fact of wanting to tell her what was on his mind, he didn't want to bother her with his problems. He tried to smile, "Nothing's wrong Ashley.."

I think after all this time I can tell when something is bothering you," she retorted. She couldn't help but laugh a little.

"You get this little dimple when you pout," she teased.

"So come on...tell me," she begged. Ashley didn't like not knowing when something was irking him.

He looked at with a raised eyebrow at the dimple comment. Was she trying to flirt with him or cheer him up? He couldn't quite tell.

"It's nothing reallly...just..." he trailed off. Oh here it comes. Might as well spill it. She's not going to drop it until he told her.

"Well...it's just that…Karone has been in front of us this whole time. I thought my sister was dead…" Andros sighed sadly.

Ashley," She heard her name being called. Then she felt her arm being shaken and suddenly Ashley was brought back into reality. "Ashley, did you hear a word I said?" Cassie asked her general concern on her face.

"Sorry Cassie," Ashley said, rubbing her eyes, "What were you saying?"

I was asking if you think we can really trust Astronema. I mean sure she saved us but...how do we really know she's on our side," Cassie repeated herself. Ashley looked at her friend and ran a hand through her hair.

"Well...Andros believes she's on our side," Ashley muttered.

"Yeah but...he's been searching for her all this time. He'd believe her even if she was lying," Cassie hissed.

"Do you think Andros is that dense Cassie?" Ashley snapped.

"I didn't imply that Andros was being dense. I am just saying that him finally finding his sister is going to really impair his judgment," Cassie said, backing off from Ashley's sudden change in behavior.

Just outside of the mega ship bridge doors, Karone stopped as she heard Cassie ask if they should trust her. Karone knew it was going to take awhile to earn their the other rangers trust. She didn't blame them for not trusting her, Karone hardly even trusted herself. She was surprised to hear Ashley jump to her brother's defense.

"His judgment is fine Cassie, and I do not know why you are acting this way. Astrenoma…no not Astronema, Karone was tricked by Dark Spector. I think she was honestly trying to show Andros where Zordan was," Ashley said defending Karone.

"I guess you're right," Cassie conceded. "I just...need some time to get used to it," she added and stood up. Just then Karone took a deep breath and hit the button to open the bridge doors. Cassie jumped slightly as she noticed Karone standing there.

"Hi Karone," Cassie greeted with a smile.

"You don't have to pretend, Cassie. I know you don't trust me. I completely understand," Karone said, walking past her. Cassie looked a little taken aback. With that she made a quick exit.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," Karone addressed Ashley.

Ashley gave Karone a smile, "Anytime. How are you doing?" Ashley asked, hoping her new friend was adjusting well to the new surroundings.

"I'm ok…still getting used to not being around monsters. I keep looking over my shoulder, thinking that Dark Spector is coming to get me," she said sighing.

"Aww…I'm sorry. Well you are safe here, besides Andros is never letting you out of his sight willingly again. So be prepared for big brother protecting little sister."

Karone laughed a little. She wasn't sure how she felt about Andros looking over her shoulder every five seconds. But she supposed she had to be grateful. She had her family back.

"It's strange," she murmured.

"What's strange?" Ashley asked.

"I just remembered something Ecliptor kept saying lately. He kept telling me that he cared about me like a daughter. It feels kind of weird thinking that I have real parents out there somewhere," she rambled. "I mean can something built to be evil really actually care about someone?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

Ashley stayed silent for a moment, not sure what to say. She remembered that how Ecliptor did seem to care for Karone, despite being evil. He let her go, and left himself to hold off Dark Spector from getting a hold of Karone. "Karone…I think he did care for you as a father. He sacrificed himself to let you live, and escape the hell you were living in," Ashley said hoping her words left Karone feeling ok, since she did truly believe what she was telling her.

"I'm worried abot him. I should have insisted he come with us. At least then we could have protected him," Karone said, fighting off tears.

"He was doing what was best for you," Ashley whispered, pulling the other girl her in a hug. Just then Andros wandered in. He took in the sniffling form of his baby sister and concern flooded him.

"Is she ok?" he asked Ashley.

"Yeah...she just misses..." Ashley began but stopped. She wasn't sure how Andros would take Karone missing Ecliptor.

"I'm sorry. I'm alright. I just am worried about Ecliptor. I just know that Dark Specter has done something to him," Karone explained. Andros wasn't sure what to say to his younger sister. He and Ecliptor had fought hand to hand many times. Ashley could see that Andros was about to say something stupid and possibly get his sister mad at him and she was going to try and stop him from saying anything, but wasn't in time, "I'm sorry Karone..." thank God, Ashley thought, glad he didn't say anything, like calling Ecliptor evil, or heartles.

Karone dried her eyes and looked at her brother and her new friend.

"I need to go save him," she announced, determination in her eyes.

"What? No you can't. It could be a trap. I just got you back. I'm not letting you go anywhere," Andros replied.

"I'll be ok. I'm not evil anymore," she promised, giving his hand a squeeze and headed out of the room.

"Karone! Wait!" he yelled after her, trying to catch up with her.

"Ashley what did you say to her?" Andros asked glaring at Ashley.

"You are blaming me for her running off?" Ashley asked Andros, hands on her hips. "Don't you get all mad at me about this Andros!"

"You put my little sister in danger!" Andros sighed angrily. "How could you plant the idea that she could trust Ecliptor?" Andros ran a hand through his streaked hair.

"Well I can see why Karone doesn't want to talk to you there Andros! She can't trust you not to explode and go all crazy on her!" Ashley shouted back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andros shot.

"And for your information, she was the one who brought Ecliptor up. He's all she knew growing up," Ashley spat back.

"Can you blame her for wanting to protect him?" she asked. Andros looked at her. She had a point. Still, he didn't like to admit it. He had to go find Karone and stop her.

"I have to stop her," he muttered and started to walk away.

"You need to trust her. If you really love her, you'll let her do this," Ashley whispered gently.

Andros knew she was right, but he couldn't help but worry, "I know, but I can't help but worry about her," Andros sighed.

"I know…she will be fine, and besides look who is her brother," she said smiling at Andros.

As Karone was focused on saving Ecliptor, she didn't notice Zhane walking down the hall and bumped his shoulder. "Sorry Zhane," she knew should have stayed and saw if he was alright, but she needed to save the only father figure she ever had growing up.

Zhane looked at the girl walking away from him. She seemed in a hurry and that intrigued him.

"Hey, where are you going?" he called after her but she didn't answer.

"Better check this out," he muttered to himself, following her at a distance. He watched as she disappeared from the teleportation room.

"D.E.C.A. where did Karone go?" he asked quietly.

"She has gone to the Dark Fortess," the computer replied.

"What the..." he trailed off, following her. This couldn't be good.

Zhane knew he couldn't just let Karone go off by herself like that, whatever she was doing. He instantly headed for the transportation chamber, morpher in hand already. He instantly teleported to the Dark Fortress, and found Karone dressed up like Astronema, and being pestered by some quantrons.

"How dare you question my identity, you cretin! Now move before I blast you into oblivion!" Astronema growled. Instantly quantrons started to run away, but she managed to grab one, "You, tell me where Ecliptor is," venom seeping into her voice. The quantron started to lead her towards where Ecliptor was being held..

Karone was glad that it didn't take too much to scare the quantrons, hopefully Ecliptor was ok. If anything happened to him…she didn't know what she would do. "Can you walk any slower?! Hurry up you mindless bigot!" she seethed.

Zhane followed in the shadows, and he was curious to find out why Karone wanted to see Ecliptor.

The quantron finally stopped moving, pointing to a closed door. Astronema smiled and pushed him aside, opening the door and walking in. Ecliptor stood facing the window. Zhane managed to slip by the quantron.

"Ecliptor," Karone called softly. He slowly turned around, revealing the new parts Darconda had installed, turning his alligence back to Dark Specter.

"What did they do to you?" she asked.

"I am Ecliptor, servant of Dark Specter," he said, his voice hollow.

"Ecliptor, what have they done to you?" Karone gasped as he fully came into her view. This was not the same person that she had been raised by. Ecliptor took a threatening step towards Karone, instantly grabbing her wrist, causing pain to shoot up her arm. "Ecliptor stop!" Karone yelled as the pain intensified. Zhane couldn't handle it anymore, he busted the quantron and the door.

Zhane instantly shot his fist out punching Ecliptor in the gut, and wringing his iron grip on Karone. "Zhane?!" Karone asked in disbelief.

"Get your hands off her, Ecliptor," Zhane shouted, sending a round house right into the creature's chest. Ecliptor stumbled backwards, tripping over himself.

"Come on we need to get out of here," Zhane said, grabbing Karone by the elbow.

"No...we can't leave him like this," she begged.

"He's no the same Ecliptor you knew. And if we stick around here I'm pretty sure their plan was for you to not be Karone anymore," Zhane shot, teleporting off the ship.

Karone struggled in his grip, and finally stop fighting it. "Zhane, why did you do that? He needed to be saved.." she cried, starting to punch at his chest. Zhane held Karone until she finally just broke down in his arms. "He was the only father figure I had…and he is now under Dark Spector's control," Zhane wrapped his arms around her, trying to offer any comfort he could give her.

Zhane started to make shushing noises, and rubbing her back slowly. "I'm so sorry," Zhane whispered into her hair, and he felt her tighten her grip on him.

"I can't believe this is happening, Zhane…just when everything starting to get better," Karone whispered into his shoulder.

Just as Zhane was about to comfort her some more a blue of red ran by, stopping in his tracks. Andros turned around to see his sister wrapped up in his best friend's arms.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"They altered Ecliptor. He attacked her...I had to get her out before something happened to her," Zhane explained. He gave his friend a "don't go all jealous on me" look.

"Karone...I'm sorry," Andros murmured, taking her hand. She looked at him.

"It's all so overwhelming," she breathed.

"I am just glad that you are safe," Andros said to her. Karone sniffled, trying to calm down, but found that she couldn't.


	2. Chapter 2

Andros pulled Karone close to him, wrapping his arms around her. He tried to comfort her and stop her crying but maybe its what she needed. Maybe she needed to get it all out. He looked up at Zhane.

"Can you give us a minute?" he asked of his friend. Zhane looked aprehensive for a moment but nodded and headed towards the bridge. Quietly, Andros led Karone to his room and sat her on the bed.

Andros sat next to her, and the tears finally stopped pouring out of her eyes. "Looks like I am just as weak as I was before,"

"Karone, what are you talking about?" Andros said gently.

"If it wasn't for Zhane following me, I could have been kidnapped again, and all that I found out about you guys…they could have used against you," She whispered.

Karone leaned her head on Andros' shoulder. "But the good thing is that you didn't get caught, and that you are safe here," Andros said wrapping an arm around her.

"Well I may be safe, but what about Ecliptor? He is not safe, and Dark Spector has him," she snapped.

"I...I don't know. I think we have to worry about ourselves right now. Dark Specter is going to try and come after us again," Andros sighed. He still didn't like the fact that Karone was being protective of Ecliptor.

"We need to be ready for him," he added, brushing a lock of her short hair out of her face.

"I know we do...but I just can't shake the image of Ecliptor from my head. He was...so different. It scared me," she admitted.

Andros nearly let out a sigh. He knew he should be a little more supportive of his little sister's feelings about Ecliptor, but he couldn't shake off the images of him and Ecliptor fighting each other.

"He had all these machine parts, covering his eyes…and his voice was so cold and unemotional. He tried to hurt me Andros. Even when I was a child, he never was that cold," Karone said rubbing at her eyes again, tears forcing themselves to come out of their eyes. Andros wrapped his arms around his little sister, not wanting to say anything to make her snap or become angry with him.

"We'll save him, I promise," he breathed in her ear. He wasn't sure it was a promise he could keep but he would try.

"Thank you," Karone sniffled, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. Suddenly there was a knock on the door before it opened.

"Just thought you might want to know that Ecliptor and Darconda are attacking Angel Grove," Zhane informed them.

Andros nodded towards his friend, and pulled away from the hug. "Alright we are going, we will talk more when I get back," he promised his little sister, and started to head out her bedroom door.

"You think I am just going stay here? I may be a little shaken up, but I am still a Power Ranger whether you like it or not. I am going," Karone instantly said getting up.

"Karone I am not letting you put yourself in danger again," Andros said gently grabbing her hand again, and started leading her back towards her bed. She shook his arm away, and glared at him.

"I don't think that is your choice," Karone snapped back.

"It was my choice to let you go, and you nearly got captured again because of me,"

"I would have gone even if I didn't have your blessing. I would have sneaked out," Karone shot back. "I am going," Before Andros could even put in a word, Zhane stepped in.

"Now is not the time to be fighting each other. We need to get to Earth with the others, and having one more hand to help fight couldn't hurt," Zhane said briskly.

Andros sighed but nodded, leading Karone to the teleportation room.

"Just be careful," he told his sister before they headed to Earth after the rest of the team. They landed and saw the other Rangers doing battle with Quantrons.

"Man those things are really annoying aren't they," Karone commented. She looked herself over, the first time had morphed as herself.

Cool, she thought to herself. She went into the battle and saw a Quantron trying to sneak up on Cassie, and took it out with a roundhouse kick. "Thanks," Cassie quickly said before heading out again at the Quantrons.

Karone dodged another strike from one of the Quantrons, and grabbed it's weapon, twisted it's arm, and use the weapon against it. She turned and saw Ecliptor, attacking some of the townspeople. "Ecliptor stop!" she shouted at Ecliptor.

Ecliptor didn't even turn towards her, and Karone ran at him grabbing one of his arms, giving the civilian a chance to run away. "Get a hold of yourself!" she shot at him, knocking his legs out from under him.

Andros watched as Karone knocked Ecliptor off his feet. Did she ever give up? He ran at a cluster of Quantrons, sending them scattering like startled geese.

"You're coming with me!" Darconda cackled, trying to grab Karone by the arm.

"Get your hands off me!" she shouted, managing to elbow him in the gut.

"Karone!" Zhane shouted, rushing to her aid. He grabbed Darcond by the arm and flipped him onto his back. He called for his weapon and had at the villian as if he was trying to butcher meat. Finally Darconda disappeared.

"Thanks," Karone said, breathless.

"Any time," Zhane said, a smile in his voice.

"He'll be back though," she groaned.

"What are you talking about? He looks pretty dead to me," Zhane said confusion entering into his voice.

"He has more than one life! He is going to come back again," Karone explained quickly. Ecliptor was back on his feet and started to head for Zhane. She pulled Zhane out of the way, and kicked away the sword from Ecliptor's grip.

"Ecliptor, you need to snap out of it!" Ecliptor ignored Karone's plea, and swung at her face. Karone ducked, and saw Zhane fly over head, kicking Ecliptor in the face.

Zhane shook his head. This was pointless. Ecliptor wasn't going to listen to a word Karone said. The rest of the Rangers had sufficiently beaten the Quantrons into submission. Ecliptor stumbled backwards and made to reach for his sword but Andros hit him in the back with his blaster. The creature fell to to his knees in defeat He quickly disappeared.

"I wonder what that was about," Carlos commented as he and the rest of the team joined Zhane, Andros and Karone.

"I have no idea," Ashley replied. She looked around. The civilians that had been under attack had gotten to safety and the Quantrons had disappeared once Ecliptor had left.

"Let's get back to the ship," Andros instructed. They teleported back to the ship and Karone felt a little out of place being with the other rangers, not sure what to do as they bustled around.

Ashley saw Karone, and saw her face in a mask of confusion. "You ok?" Karone stood there.

"Can we go talk somewhere?" Karone asked quickly.

"Sure," Ashley answered and followed Karone back to her room.

"What's up?" the Yellow Ranger asked.

"You're pretty close to Andros, right?" Karone asked nervously.

"I guess so, yeah."

"Does he keep his promises?" Karone wanted to know. Ashley looked at Karone, she looked nervous.

"Well I am not sure if this counts as one, but he promised to find and save you one day, and he did," Ashley said, hoping that it would be enough for her. "Besides that, he has always been truthful to what he has said," Ashley added. Karone didn't look that much at ease, and Ashley knew something was up. "Why do you ask?"

Karone sighed, "It is just that, I was talking about what happened when I went into the Dark Fortress. They changed him Ashley, did something to his mind," Karone sighed again. "After I was done, he promised he would save Ecliptor,"

Ashley stared at Karone for a moment. She could see why Karone was asking. She wasn't sure herself if Andros could keep that promise, no matter how hard he tried.

"Well...I'm honestly kind of shocked he said that," Ashley remarked.

"But he loves you and I'm sure he's going to try the hardest that he can to keep it," she added, taking Karone by the hand.

"You sure?" Karone asked, sounding not so sure.

"Yeah," Ashley replied.

On the brdige Andros was staring at the main viewing screen, the stars passing them by. He didn't hear Zhane walk up to him.

"What's up with you?" the blond asked.

"I made Karone a promise I don't know if I can keep," Andros answered automatically.

"What kind of promise?" Zhane inquired.

"That I would save Ecliptor," his best friend replied.

"Oh," Zhane said, thinking that was going to be a hard promise to keep. "I don't think Karone is going to expect you to hold up to your promise," Zhane said.

"I don't know, it's just I don't want to do anything to get her any more mad at me," Andros said sighing.

"Andros, come on. She's still getting used to being good. It's going to take some time," Zhane tried to reassure his friend.

"I just don't know...honestly...I don't know how to be an older brother," Andros confessed. Zhane had to keep himself from making some snide remark.

"Just give it time," Zhane muttered and disappeared from the room. Zhane started to walk past Karone's room when Ashley and Karone popped out. "Whoa," Zhane said stopping before they crashed into him.

"Sorry Zhane," Ashley instantly apologized. "Hey, you know what I am going to see how Andros is doing, so see you guys later," Ashley said zig zagging away from Zhane and Karone.

: Zhane watched Ashley walk away. He hoped she could cheer him up. He was way too depressed and moody lately. He turned back to look at Karone.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, beginning to walk towards the simu-deck.

"I don't know...I mean...Andros promised me that he would save Ecliptor but I don't know how he can," she explained in big breath.

"I know he is going to try and do everything he can to keep that promise. I've been his best friend for years," Zhane assured her.

"That's what Ashley said," Karone mused. As they entered the simu-deck she was struck with an idea. She wasn't sure she could convince the rest of the Rangers to go along with it but she might be able to at least get Zhane on her side. He caught the glint in her eye and stopped what he was doing.

"What are you thinking?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well," Karone started, "I was thinking about when I was Astronema…and all the horrible things I did as her," Zhane cut her off though.

"Karone you aren't that person anymore," Zhane said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Oh it's not that this time," Karone quickly explained. "I was thinking about what Astronema had planned on doing…before I finally came to my senses...and came back to Andros, and becoming a Power Ranger."

"Oh ok. So what was she planning?" Zhane asked, now interested.

"She had plans to drain Dark Spector's powers…creating pretty much an evil version of the Power Rangers, to combat you and drain his powers until the point he died. I still think we could use that plan, but in a different way…"

Zhane stared at her. Was she crazy? How could that possibly work? And he was pretty sure none of the other rangers would agree to such a plan.

"Did you hit your head or something? That's crazy. No one would agree to that," Zhane protested.

"But think about it...if we destroy Dark Specter then he can't take over the universe. And we might actually have a chance at saving Ecliptor," Karone explained, grabbing his hand.

"I don't know..."Zhane trailed off.

"Please say you'll help me," she begged, leaning up and giving him a kiss on the lips. He blinked in shock. He had not been expecting that.

"Uh...ok," he answered.

Come on," Karone said, dragging Zhane with her back towards the bridge. The sooner they got the rest of the team on board with her plan the better.

"Wait...I was going to work out," Zhane whined.

"You can work out later," she retorted as they reached the bridge. Ashley and Andros appeared to be in deep conversation.

"Guys...can we talk to you?" Karone interrupted. Andros and Ashley looked up at the sound of her voice.


	3. Chapter 3

Ashley looked from Andros, to Karone, to Zhane and back again. She could sense something wasn't quite right, like someone was hiding something. "Sure, what's up?" Ashley replied. Karone's gaze quickly flitted to Zhane as she sat down across from her friend and brother.

"Well...we've been thinking," Karone began, motioning for Zhane to join her so he could back up.

Thinking about what?" Andros asked quickly before Karone could continue.

"Well…when I was still Astronema, she was planning on making her own version of Power Rangers, to combat you and try and defeat you. The only catch was it used Dark Spector's powers…and it would slowly drain the power from him, until he died," Before Karone continued any more she took a deep breath…hoping it wouldn't be too hard to convince her brother about what she was planning. "I know the plans, and how she was going to do it…I was thinking that we could still create them…but have them on our side,"

Andros stared blankly at his sister. She couldn't really mean this could she? It was crazy. "You can't be serious," he blurted out.

"Why would you even think of doing something like that," he continued.

"Andros, were you not just listening. We can get rid of Dark Specter. If we do that then we have a chance of saving Zordon," Zhane interrupted.

"You are agreeing with her on this?" Andros snapped at him.

"Well it is a good plan," Zhane snapped back at him. "Zordon can be saved!"

"Well that doesn't mean we can go off and do this without Dark Spector knowing!" Andros shouted. Ashley put a comforting hand on his shoulder, warning him to back down.

"Why don't we see what else Karone has in mind to do this," Ashley said calmly.

"We can create this other Rangers from Dark Specter's energy and then every time they do something good it will drain his power. The more good they do, the more power they use the more power he loses. And the more power he loses the safer Zordon is," Karone explained in one breath.

"It is a good plan," Ashley agreed.

"You don't have to go back to the Dark Fortress do you?" Andros asked, eyeing his sister.

"No. I remember the plans. We should be able to do it here," she answered.

I guess we can try. But we need to talk to Cassie, Carlos and TJ," Andros sighed.

"Thank you!" Karone squealed, throwing her arms around her brother's neck. Andros was glad that his little sister was happy, but he couldn't help but feel like she had another ulterior motive besides saving Zordan. He'd talk about it with her later, after she was done explaining it to the rest of the team.

The foursome went in search of the rest of the team, finding them in the engine room. Andros looked at Karone, silently asking her if she wanted to tell them or not. She just shrugged.

"Guys, we might have a way of defeating Dark Specter," Andros announced. Carlos nearly dropped the clipboard he held in his hands.

"Really? How?" he asked. Cassie looked up intrigued, also interested.

"Karone had an idea…" Andros started, and then let Karone go ahead and explain it. Karone nearly rolled her eyes, on having to explain it a third time.

"Yeah, so while I was Astronema, she had a plan to fight you guys, basically creating evil duplicates of the Power Rangers. The only catch was, she wanted Dark Spector dead, so every time they did something evil, he would drain his powers. So since I still remember how she was going to create them…I was thinking that we still create them, but make them our allies, and have them drain Dark Spector's powers every time they did a good deed," Karone explained quickly.

"You really think that could work?" TJ asked.

"Well we hope so. I mean not only would it get rid of our biggest enemy but we'd also have a shot at saving Zordon," Zhane explained. He was hesitant to mention Ecliptor for fear of Andros throwing another fit.

"Ok...so what do we have to do?" Carlos asked, looking ready to jump into the project.

Andros began to pace back and forth, trying to think of a way they could create these robotic rangers and how they would drain Dark Specter's energy. Karone watched him pace, starting to get irritated.

"Could you stop that? I already know how we're going to create them," she said, as if reading his mind.

"We're all ears," Zhane spoke.

"Well Astronema was going to model the exterior after Andro's battlized armor. So if we can just duplicate that say...oh...six times, we should be good for out framework," Karone began.

"And then we can worry about all the other inside stuff later," She added.

"So I'm guessing you need me to suit up?" Andros asked and Karone nodded. He flipped open his morpher and the appropriate button, giving a small roar as the armor covered his body.

"Dude...was the scream really necessary?" Zhane asked.

"Adds dramatic effect," Andros replied.

"You're so lame," Zhane coughed loudly into his hand. Karone snickered and tried to cover her mouth so Andros couldn't see her laughing at him, but of course he did.

Ashley walked up to Andros, and whispered in his ear, "I didn't think it was lame,"

Ashley's comment only made Zhane laugh harder. TJ and Carlos just looked at each other and shook their heads. Karone finally managed to compose herself enough to speak.

"Ok...we need to get that off you now and find a way to duplicate it," she stated, turning to Cassie.

"Cassie...do you think you can get Alpha to help us with this?" she asked. Cassie nodded and headed in search of the quirky robot. In her absence, the rest of the team began struggle with the armor covering Andros. He popped the helmet off.

"Sure he does the easy part," Carlos teased. Zhane circled his friend.

"Oh look guys, he's got buns of steel," he commented.

"You read too many super hero books," Andros shot at his friend, taking a swing playfully.

"God you guys need to get a room," Karone said jokingly, as Cassie came in with Alpha. The robot scuttled around; shaking his head, still not understanding what this playful banter they were doing.

"Ay yi yi yi," Alpha muttered to himself as he started to help Andros out of the suit.

"Ok once we copy the suit…we need to be able to set a level for how much each of the robots will drain," Karone explained. She was glad that the rest of the team was actually going with it, and didn't put up a fight about the plan.

"Well...if you said we're going to have these robots drain Dark Specter's energy, then don't we need like...part of him to drain from?" Carlos asked, sounding a bit confused. Karone looked at her friend.

"Yeah...that's going to be the risky part. We need to get the robots built first. We'll worry about getting the energy later. I did the calculations and we'll need to set up the ratios so that each robot will drain 16 and 2/3 of his power," Karone explained.

"Should I be worried that you had this all planned out?" Andros asked, finally out of the armor.

"Not really. We're doing good things, Andros. We're saving lives," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him.

Andros kept staring at his little sister, trying to see what she was hiding about getting Dark Spector's powers. "What is it Andros?" she asked, as she looked at the duplicates of the suits.

"How are we planning on getting the power from Dark Spector?" he asked her quietly. Karone stiffened, but continued to look at the robots.

"I'll explain it when the suits are ready…" she said nervously.

"Karone…" Andros said in a parental like voice.

"I said I'll tell you later," Karone repeated firmly. She wasn't planning on going back to the Dark Fortress. But the mission would be very risky and dangerous.

"No, you're going to tell me now," Andros demanded.

"Stop being so controlling. It's my plan. We do it my way," she snapped, turning to Alpha.

"Alpha, we need to make the suits each color to match," she informed the robot.

"Right away, Karone," he squeaked.

"Hey, Karone. There's only six suits. But there's seven of us," Ashley commented.

"I'm not creating one for myself. It's better Dark Specter not realize that I'm a Ranger now," Karone replied.

"He'll find out eventually," Zhane muttered.

"Yes, but hopefully by then it won't matter," she answered.

"God I swear if Andros keeps pestering me about the suits, I am going to knock him on his controlling ass," Karone muttered to herself, as she saw Andros glaring at her.

Cassie couldn't help but overhear Karone muttering to herself and had to stifle a small chuckle. She had to agree, Andros was starting to get on her nerves as well.

"Hey Alpha, how is it going? Do you need any help?" Cassie asked the robot.

"Why thank you Cassie. If you could just hold this wire right there," Alpha answered, pointing to a thin black wire. Cassie nodded and held the wire in place while Alpha welded the wire to the frame. Karone couldn't stand being under Andros' glare anymore, and headed towards Cassie and Alpha.

"Hey Alpha, how is everything coming over here?" Karone asked.

"Very well, Karone..ay yi yi. I am almost done with this one. Zhane and TJ are working the two over there," Alpha replied.

"Great. So we should be ready to go soon," Karone muttered more to herself than her companions. She didn't notice Andros leaning over the table whispering to Zhane.

"What's she not telling us?" Andros interrogated his friend.

"What are you talking about?" Zhane asked, eying Andros closely.

"She's planning something and it's not just to save Zordon. I know you know what that plan is," Andros accused.

"Excuse me, I only know as much as you do," Zhane quietly snapped back. "What's got your panties in a bunch is beyond me,"

"What is it she wants besides to save Zordon?" he asked again, clearly ignoring Zhane's last comment. He had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with Ecliptor, but he wanted to know for sure before he made a bigger scene.

Zhane rolled his eyes. Andros just wouldn't give up.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her," Zhane hissed.

"Hey, Alpha, these three are done. We're going to start on the last two," TJ informed the diminutive robot, ignoring his friends' bickering. He would have dragged Zhane along but Carlos was already eying the suits, wanting to get involved.

Karone turned to see where Zhane was…and saw Andros pestering Zhane about something. She openly rolled her eyes. She loved her big brother, but pestering their friends about whatever he was pestering Zhane about wasn't right. Still not in the mood to talk with Andros, she called out, "Hey Zhane, could you come over here for a minute?"

"Sure," Zhane said back, and pushed past Andros. "What's up?"

"Saw Andros pestering you about something, thought you would like to get away from that. Sorry he is getting all overprotective and being…you know…"

"Nah it is fine," Zhane said.

"Well you don't deserve to have him interrogating you every time I don't give him an answer that makes his giant sized ego happy," she quietly whispered, making sure Andros didn't overhear them.

Andros watched the other Rangers and Alpha work on the suits. He felt awkward. His sister wasn't speaking to him and neither was his best friend. He quietly slipped from the room, thinking no one had seen him but he was wrong. Ashley noted his absence instantly and headed after him.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked, catching up to him and wrapping her hand around his forearm.

"It's just…" he started, but then he stopped. He didn't know what to say.

"It is ok Andros you can tell me," Ashley said giving his arm a comforting squeeze. Andros looked at Ashley and she gave him a reassuring nod.

"I...know Karone was hiding something…possibly having an ulterior motive for the ideas of the suits," Andros started. "I tried talking to her, but she won't even give me five minutes, or a straight answer why. She is talking to Zhane, but he won't give me an answer either," Andros sighed.

"Well maybe she's not ready to tell you yet?" Ashley offered. It probably wasn't the answer he wanted but she wasn't going to lie to him.

"I guess. I just don't like not knowing," he sighed.

"I understand, believe me I do," Ashley murmured, leaning up and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Hey guys, the suits are done!" Cassie called out to them.

"Come on, maybe Karone will tell us what she wasn't before," Ashley prompted,dragging Andros back into the engine room.


	4. Chapter 4

Andros eyed the six robots lined up side by side. He had to admit they looked impressive. He caught Karone's eye but looked away. Feeling the tension in the air, Karone cleared her throat.

"Well...the easy part of this plan is done. The hard part unfortunately still looms ahead," she began.

"And what is it exactly that is looming?" Andros interrupted.

"In order to drain Dark Specter's powers with these robots we need to infuse a core with Dark Specter's energy. We need to get close enough to steal some energy," Karone explained.

"That's suicide," Cassie exclaimed.

"That's why I think I should go and get it...alone. I'll program the container to return to the ship once it's been filled...in case...I don't make it," the newest Ranger murmured.

"No.…absolutely not. It's too dangerous and I don't want to risk you being found out," Andros remarked.

"Honestly, Andros. I'd rather it be me than one of you. We can't get close enough with the Megaship. He'd notice before we could do anything," she sighed.

"So how were you planning on doing it then?" TJ interjected.

"Using a Galaxy Glider."

"Karone…that is too dangerous," Andros said once again, trying to snap Karone out of following along with her plan she had concocted. "There is no way I am going to let you go alone,"

"Andros, this is a one person job," Karone said darkly. "I am not going to ask one of our friends to risk their lives to do this," she said in a softer tone, trying not to explode at Andros being so overprotective.

"Well then I will do it," Andros said stubbornly.

"No!" Karone snapped, finally starting to loose patience at her older brother. "If you got captured, then Dark Spector will have your knowledge about everything, the zords, us…I am going, and that is final,"

"Stay in constant contact," Andros sighed. Karone couldn't help but smile and give her brother a hug.

"I will. I promise. All we need to do is track the Dark Fortress. Darconda will be getting in touch with Dark Specter no doubt," she said, dragging everyone out of the engine room and back to the bridge.

"D.E.C.A. lock onto the coordinates of the Dark Fortress. Set up scanners for Dark Specter," Karone ordered the computer system.

"Affirmative," D.E.C.A's cool voice responded. As Karone waited for the Megaship to get close to the Dark Fortress, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see it was Andros.

"Um…can we talk?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Karone said, and the got off the bridge and went out the doors. "So…what did you want to talk about?" she asked him, hoping it wouldn't turn out to be another argument.

"I wanted to apologize…" Andros said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "I never meant to disregard your plan…or anything like that, but I didn't want to risk losing you again, when I finally found you after all these years."

"I know…" Karone sighed, "It will be ok Andros…I am not going to get myself caught," she said pulling Andros into a hug. "Better get back to the bridge before everyone thinks we are bickering a storm before I leave," she said pulling away, giving her older brother a smile.

Andros nodded and they returned to the bridge just in time to see both Dark Specter and the Dark Fortress appear on the viewing screen.

"Man, he's even uglier up close," Zhane remarked.

"Yeah...believe me, he's not picnic. He could really use a breath mint," Karone said with a giggle.

"Well... you should get going. Don't want to lose him," Andros murmured, handing his sister a communicator.

"I guess so. Wish me luck," she said, addressing the rest of the team. She strapped on the communicator and headed for the transportation room. She grabbed the container she would need and jumped down her shoot. She appeared in space in her suit.

"Time to see if the invisibility feature I had Alpha install in my suit works," she said to herself, pressing the number 4 on her communicator. She instantly became invisible. Good, she thought to herself…she just had to make sure not to run into any Quantrons, Darconda, or Ecliptor while being invisible. She landed nimbly on her Galaxy Glider, and silently headed towards Dark Specter. Karone inhaled silently through her nose as she began to get closer and closer to Dark Spector's form, starting to get a little nervous. Karone knew she could do this, but was starting to think about what she would be leaving behind if she got caught or worse. You are going to be fine Karone, she thought to herself. Just a few more feet, and Karone would be able to start to collect some energy from Dark Spector. She finally got close enough, and opened the canister to start the energy absorption process.

The rest of the team was still on the Megaship watching. They saw Karone appear before them and suddenly disappear. Andros panicked.

"Karone! Come in," he said frantically.

"Shut up I'm trying to concentrate," Karone hissed back.

"You disappeared," he said.

"Well duh...that's what invisible means," she retorted. Ashley couldn't help but laugh at Karone's remark. The communication fell silent for a few minutes while Karone got in position. She opened the canister and the Rangers could see it sucking in Dark Specter's energy.

"Just a little more," Karone breathed, capping the container just as Dark Specter started to notice. Dark Specter turned towards Karone's direction, and breathed heavily as he felt someone still draining his power, but then abruptly stopped. Even through the mask, his foul breath hit Karone, and it stank. Finally Dark Specter turned away, giving Karone a chance to have her Galaxy Glider turn around slowly, and quietly away from him. Just as she was leaving, Ecliptor appeared before Dark Specter.

Karone was about to stop and listen in…but she knew that she couldn't listen in without getting captured, so she turned away and headed back to the Megaship.

She hopped off her glider in the transportation room and demorphed. She held the container at a distance and headed for the bridge.

"Miss me?" she asked. Andros spun around and grinned.

"Maybe," he said.

"Oh please. You were worrying like a little girl," Zhane teased.

"Well I got what we need. The only thing is...Alpha's going to need to install this. We can't touch it...it would not be pretty," she explained.

"None of us would look very nice as lava people," she added as an afterthought.

"Lava people? What happens exactly if we touch it?" TJ asked in concern.

"Well...you become lava people..." Karone said, giving him a look that said 'don't be so dense'.

"Now Alpha, be careful with this. Remember you need to set the drain ratio to 16 2/3 percent for each robot," she continued, addressing Alpha.

"Right away Karone," he said cheerfully. He took the canister and disappeared.

"So you can relax now that I'm back and I'm safe," she said, noticing Andros still looked on edge.

Andros gave his little sister a smile; glad she was back, safe and sound. "I am relaxed," he said, although it really didn't sound like he was.

Ashley gave Andros' hand a squeeze. He looked at her and couldn't help but feel relieved now. The two women he cared about most were safe for now and that was all that mattered.

"I swear I am relaxed, Karone. Let's go see how Alpha is doing," he said and began to walk off the bridge.

The rest of the team followed Andros down to the engine room. Alpha was closing up the last of the robots. He turned to look at the Rangers.

"They are all ready," the small robot announced.

"Great, thanks Alpha," Karone said, giving him a smile before turning to her friends.

"Should we give them a try?" she asked.

"Sure but what do they do?" TJ questioned.

"Well they help people. At least that's what they are programmed to do," Karone explained.

"Um...I think people would freak out a little if the saw a robot coming up to them," Carlos voiced.

"They won't hurt anyone. Come on, we can test them out and fix them if there are any problems," Karone sighed.

"Do they clean?" Zhane asked as they headed for Earth.

The Rangers appeared on Earth with the new robots. Karone switched each of them on and they each walked off in different directions. Andros watched as the red robot assisted an elderly woman across the street. The Blue and Silver robots made their way over to a nearby soccer field. A ball came flying and the Blue robot caught it.

"Here you go children," it said, handing the ball back.

"Thanks mister," one of the kids playing said.

"Would you like a referee?" the Silver robot asked politely. The child nodded.

"Looks like people aren't scared of them," Cassie whispered in Carlos' ear.

Andros turned to his sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asked.

"So are they really sucking energy from Dark Specter right now?"

"Well they should be. We can check when we go back to the ship," she answered. Just then Zhane joined in on their conversation.

"So what happens if say Quantrons attack? Would they fight?" he inquired.

"Yeah, hopefully," the blond said with a nod.

The Rangers watched as the robots continued to help and interact with the surrounding civilian population. Karone couldn't help but grin wildly. Her plan was working. They were helping people and getting rid of Dark Specter. She finally looked at the rest of the team.

"Come on. Let's round them up and get back to the ship. I want to see how much energy we've drained," she called.

"She's obsessed," Zhane whispered to Andros. They both laughed. Shortly they were all back on the ship. Karone had hooked the robots up to the computer system and was pressing a lot of buttons.

"You're sure you know what you're doing, right?" Andros asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"Yes, I know what I'm doing. Stop looking over my shoulder," she said, swatting him away.

The computer started beeping loudly and immediately Andros thought his sister had messed something up. But he realized it was just calculations.

"Well it's a start. They drained about 10 percent of his energy," Karone announced.

"That's great. Only 90 percent to go," Carlos said.


	5. Chapter 5

Karone was staring at the screen before her, her eyes glazed over in exhaustion. She'd been up half the night trying to figure out what their next move would be once Dark Specter was gone. She was so tired she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

"Karone," Ashley called.

"Oh...hi Ashley," Karone replied with a yawn.

"Did you ever go to bed last night?" the Yellow Ranger asked.

"I think i got a few hours of sleep. I've just been so busy making sure we stay one step ahead of Darconda," Karone murmured.

"Well…" Ashley said, taking Karone away from the counsel. "You need to get some sleep. I'll watch for any activity ok?"

"But-,"

"No buts missy get to bed," she said.

"Someone has been hanging out with my brother too much," she muttered sleepily.

With one last look at Ashley, Karone wandered off in the direction of her room. She had to admit she was beat. Just as she reached her door she heard her name being called.

"Hey, Karone," Zhane greeted.

"Hi..um...I'm going to bed," she said. His face fell a little.

"Oh...ok," he murmured and watched her slip inside. It took a minute for Karone to realize how rude she had been to Zhane, and she walked back outside to apologize. She saw Zhane walking the opposite direction, and jogged up to him to catch up with him.

"Hey," she said surprising him.

Zhane turned and looked at Karone.

"I thought you were going to sleep," he muttered.

"I was...I mean I am...I just wanted to apologize for being so snappy," she explained. He gave a half-hearted smile.

"It's ok. You have a lot going on," he said, trying to brush it off.

"But I didn't have to be rude about it…" she said sleepily. Zhane chuckled at her sleepy face.

"I forgive you. Now go get some sleep," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek gently. She smiled at him and ducked back into her room. Zhane continued on down the corridor, running into Andros on his way to the simu-deck.

"Hey...I don't think Karone's been sleeping too well lately," Zhane commented to his friend.

"I know...I'm trying not to worry but I can't help it. She's obsessing over this Dark Specter thing," Andros sighed.

"Have you tried talking with her about it?" Zhane asked, worried about Karone.

"She doesn't really talk with me too much about it…" Andros sighed.

"Me either. You think she talks to Cassie or Ashley about it?" Zhane suggested. Andros just shrugged. They reached the simu-deck and Andros set the simulation.

"Mind if I join you?" Zhane asked.

"Why not. I'll kick your butt," Andros answered with a smirk.

Elsewhere on the ship, TJ was heading for the bridge. He found Ashley staring at the monitor. "Hey Ashley…"

"Hey TJ," she said still staring at the screen in front of her, still looking for any activity from Dark Specter.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Saving Karone the trouble to continue looking for evil when she should be sleeping," Ashley replied.

"She's really focused on this taking down Dark Specter isn't she," TJ commented.

"Yeah...I half expected her to just blurt a percentage when i saw her this morning," Ashley admitted.

"Yeah...I mean it is a good plan and so far he hasn't figured it out," TJ sighed.

"She is sleeping now. I wonder how long we kept her awake when she was Astronema," Ashley mused.

"Us? Probably all night," TJ joked. Ashley let out a small chuckle and turned back to the screen once again.

"So what are you doing her Teej?" she asked.

Just checking how things are going... so how are things going?" TJ answered.

"Well…they seem to be ok. We've drained almost half of Dark Specter's power already. I guess our Ranger robots are doing a lot of good," Ashley answered.

"I guess so. I just hope that Dark Specter doesn't figure it out before we drain all of his power," TJ muttered.

"Let's hope…" Ashley sighed as she continued to stare at the screen in front of her.

Before TJ could say anything more alarms began to go off and DECA's automated voice spoke.

"Rangers, Darconda is attacking Angel Grove," it said.

"Man…doesn't he ever take a break?" TJ groaned just as Cassie, Carlos, Zhane and Andros appeared.

"Come on let's go," Andros said, directing the team towards the teleportation room.

"What about Karone?" Carlos asked.

"Let her be. She needs some sleep," Andros replied. Carlos just shrugged and they teleported down to Earth.

The Rangers looked around, trying to find where Darconda had gone. He didn't appear to be anywhere.

Where did he go?" Cassie asked sounding confused.

"I have no idea," Andros answered just as they were swarmed upon by Quantron.

"Man these guys are really starting to bug me," Zhane complained, sending a group of them flying.

On the Mega ship 

As Karone slept peacefully, Darconda silently made his way onto the ship. At the moment he was shielded from DECA, so Darconda headed for Karone's room. While the other rangers were distracted, he was going to go ahead and kidnap the ex-evil princess, once again. The doors to Karone's room opened up, and silently Darconda entered the room. Karone being fully asleep didn't hear him come in, until he grabbed a hold of her and yanked her out of the bed.

"Let go of me!" she shouted, and started to struggle, and felt a fear deep inside of her submerge.

"Ah Princess cat got your tongue?" he cackled. Karone fought in his grip more, not wanting to go back to being Astronema. "Well at least you are struggling this time, it was boring when I first kidnapped you," he said chuckling evilly. Out of nowhere the robotic rangers came out and broke his grip on Karone, and she kicked out at him hitting his gut.

The rangers took it from there, fighting him until he fled.

Back on Earth the other Rangers were doing their best to fight off the Quantrons. All of a sudden they disappeared.

"That was too weird," TJ commented.

"It was like they were trying to keep us busy," Ashley began but Andros was already ahead of her.

"Karone," he gasped and they transported back to the ship. Karone was sitting on the bridge in her pajamas, a cup of tea in her hands. Andros noticed the tear on one of the sleeves and went up to her. "What happened…are you ok?" he asked worried about her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Um…I'm ok," she whispered, a touch of fear in her voice still. "The robotic Rangers saved me…from Darconda…"

"I should have known it was a trick," Andros spat.

"Take it easy. We had no idea. She's safe. I guess the Robot Rangers are good at protecting the innocent," Zhane commented.

"But...he knows what they are now. He's going to go after them, try and stop them from completing their mission," Karone sighed.

"No he won't. We won't let him," Zhane promised, squeezing her hand. Karone nodded her head numbly, still in shock that she nearly got kidnapped again.

"Thanks," she whispered to Zhane.

The rest of the team dispersed, off to do whatever they needed to do. Andros turned his attention to the onboard computer.

"DECA, resume scans for Zordon," he ordered.

"Resuming scanning now," DECA answered. While DECA continued to search for Zordon, Andros headed for Karone's room, but already found Zhane comforting Karone, holding her close to him. Just as he was about to interrupt them, Ashley walked by.

"Hey Andros," she said.

"Hey Ashley," he replied, following her down the corridor.

"I can't believe Darconda tried to take my sister again," he sighed. She wrapped a hand around his arm and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"But she's ok," she reminded him.

"I know," he sighed. Just then, DECA voice sounded throughout the entire ship.

"Zordon has been detected on the planet Edonoi," Andros's head snapped up as DECA said that, and instantly him and Ashley headed for the bridge.

Karone and Zhane appeared right behind them, along with the rest of the team. Could it be true? Have they finally located Zordon, or was it just a trap for them? "Karone…maybe you should stay behind…" Andros suggested. "You haven't had much sleep at all…"

"The last time I stayed behind I almost got kidnapped. I'd say I'm a heck of a lot safer down there," she retorted. Andros gave her a woried look but just nodded.

"You know I think I heard about this planet before," Cassie commented.

"I think another team of Rangers has been here," she added.

"Yeah...how'd that turn out?" Zhane asked.

"Uh...I think they got chased off the planet," she admitted.

"We're screwed," he whined.

"No we're not. Stop being a pessimist and come on," Andros shot at his friend.

Karone wrapped her hand around Zhane's and he smiled. Andros saw it, and was about to open his mouth, not really approving, but Ashley dragged him towards the teleportation room.

"Ashley…"

"Don't Ashley me…Karone is growing up Andros,"

"I know..." he sighed. He had to admit that he was glad it was Zhane she was interested in rather than some total stranger.

"I guess I just missed her grow up so much...I have to catch up myself," he said with a laugh. The rest of the team joined them and they headed down to the planet.

"Whoah...this place looks deserted. Good place to keep an interdimensional being...I guess," Zhane commented, trying pick up any trace of Zordon with his scanner.

"Spread out," Andros called and they began moving in different directions.

Karone walked, eyes on the scanner in her hand. The gadget began to pick up some signal and she headed in the direction. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw a flash of green. Her brow furrowed and she inched closer, astro-blaster drawn just in case. She wasn't going to be caught off guard again. She rounded a boulder to see a massive covered tube. She knew it was Zordon. But what most caught her interest was that Ecliptor was there. She backed away, raising her communicator to her mouth.

"I found him," she whispered.

"Where are you?" Andros' voice responded. She looked at her scanner and whispered the coordinates.

"Be careful, there are probably Quantrons lurking...and Ecliptor is here," she warned. Karone decided against her wishes and waited for everyone else to show up before confronting Ecliptor, despite how much she wanted to save him. Andros was there in minutes, expecting Karone to try and talk with Ecliptor. Karone could clearly read the surprise coming from him.

"I decided to wait for you guys," Karone said.

"Well...good. We don't want you getting kidnapped again," her brother remarked just as the rest of the team arrived.

"So what's the plan?" Carlos asked, peering over the top of the boulder.

"It looks like it is just Ecliptor. We can take him right?" TJ whispered.

"Quantrons are probably not far away. We'd be better off mounting an aerial attack," Andros remarked.

"Well it's a little late for that approach. We can just go in shooting," Zhane suggested.

"Zhane…you do know that going in would be suicide?" Andros snapped. Zhane shrugged his shoulders, and was about to angrily retort, but Karone stopped them.

"What we need is a distraction," Karone sighed at them.

"Distraction…what are you thinking about?" Andros asked, suddenly worried that Karone would do something stupid and use herself as bait.

"Me," Karone said simply.

"No...Absolutely not. We are not using you," he hissed.

"Why not?" she retorted.

"Because... because we just aren't," he replied.

"Lame argument, Andros. I'm going and that's final," she snapped, standing up. Andros tried to reach out to stop her but she eluded his grip. He had no choice but to watch his sister walk out towards Ecliptor.

Karone didn't care to mention to Zhane or Andros that she was just winging this plan, but hey it worked right? Give them enough time to look for Zordon…and it gives her a chance to try and break Dark Specter's hold on Ecliptor. "Ecliptor," she called out and instantly he turned to her.

"Princess," he said coldly, and totally un-Ecliptor like. Andros was itching to go and grab Karone away from Ecliptor, but Zhane stopped him.

"Let her do it Andros," Zhane whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

Ecliptor ran towards Karone sword drawn, and she dodged him. "You have gotten slower Ecliptor," Karone taunted. Ecliptor turned back around. Ecliptor roared and tried to hit Karone with his sword. She grabbed his arm and twisted it tossing him back.

Andros was about to jump in and help his sister, but was restrained by Ashley and Zhane. "Let go of me," he seethed.

"Karone can handle herself," Ashley said, dragging him in the opposite direction. "Come on, we need to take this opportunity to look for Zordon,"

Andros gritted his teeth, not liking have to leave karone to fight alone. but the rest of the team wouldn't let him go as they snuck around the rock and headed in the dreiction that Karone's scanner had indicated.

"Come on, it's this way," Zhane said, motioning for the rest of the team to follow him. The scanner beeped louder as they moved until it was an onstant blare. They pressed themselves against some rocks, seeing a bunch of Quantrons guarding Zordon.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate them?" Zhane groaned.

"Yes you have," Andros snapped at his friend. He stormed over to the Quantrons throwing himself into the battle. The sooner they saved Zordon, the sooner he can get back to his sister. The rest of the team joined in on the fight, but didn't really have to do much, seeing as how Andros was taking most of them out.

Ashley was worried about Andros, seeing how pissed off he was, but didn't say anything.

Andros pulled out his blaster, shooting anything metallic that moved. He just wanted this to be over. He felt a hand grab his shoulder and he spun around, hand ready to pull the trigger when he saw it was Ashley.

"Chill out. They're just Quantrons," she said, trying to calm him down. Just then Zordon's voice boomed.

"Andros," he called out. Andros turned to look at the interdemnsional being.

"We're going to get you out of here, Zordon,"

"Andros…we are going to need the ship to get him out of here. TJ said after looking around the Andros cursed under his breath realizing that they did need certain tools that the Mega Ship has to get Zordon free.

"Fine, I'll go get the Mega Ship," Andros sighed angrily, heading for a place to teleport without getting caught.

Karone was starting to tire, Ecliptor may not be in there, but he knew her fighting style, and was effortless dodging every punch she threw. Ecliptor grabbed her arm while she had tried to punch him and twisted it. She let out a groan of pain, and Ecliptor hit her with the bottom of the sword.

Zhane suddenly felt Karone's pain, and instantly ran back towards her, ignoring the team's voices. He saw Ecliptor landing a kick on Karone's side, and she hit a wall behind her. Zhane instantly ran into the battle summoning his weapon and started to attack Ecliptor.

Ecliptor turned and began to fight Zhane, giving Karone time to catch her breath. She was holding her right arm, feeling pain shooting through it from where he'd twisted it. Meanwhile, Andros had managed to teleport back to the ship and started bringing it towards the planet's surface.

"Rangers, you must hurry before Dark Specter finds you here," Zordon warned the rest of the team.

"But we can't leave without, Zordon," Carlos retorted.

"Andros is almost here...we just have to wait a few more minutes," TJ added.

Zhane knocked Ecliptor into the wall, and looked back to check on Karone, who was slumped against the wall, gripping her arm in pain. That angered Zhane even more and he slashed Ecliptor with his sword again, but stopped to check on Karone. "Are you ok?" he asked, concern lacing his voice. Karone nodded and pulled out her Astro Blaster with her good arm shooting Ecliptor who was advancing on them again. She dropped the Astro Blaster…her arm shaking.

"I…can't believe I just did that," Karone whispered.

"It'll be ok," Zhane told her. "Come on…we need to get back to the others," he said putting his weapon away, and gently helping her up, putting her good arm around his shoulder, and they walked back to the others.

They reached the rest of the team to find them trying to harness large cables to the top of Zordon's chamber.

"Looks like you guys need some help," Zhane shouted. He began climbing up the one of the already attached cables to give Carlos a hand. Just as they got the last cable secured, a loud noise boomed overhead and laser beams landed all around them.

"Get back to the ship!" Andros called through his communicator. The team hurriedly complied. Once they were all back on the ship, Andros began lifting off, the cables pulling at the tube. Just as he started to lift off they started to shoot at the Mega Ship.

"No!" Andros shouted, trying to turn so he could fire on them. The Mega Ship started to pull away when all of the sudden the ship started to slow down. The Dark Fortress had managed to snag a cable onto Zordon.

"Andros…you need to let me go," Zordon said to him.

"No!" Andros shouted.

"Yes…there will be another time, but you need to go now!" Zordon commanded. Andros started to shake his head, not willing to let Zordon go when they just found him. "Now," Zordon commanded. Zhane pressed a couple buttons and the cables started to disconnect Zordon from the Mega Ship.

"What are you doing?" Andros shouted at Zhane.

"Doing what he said because you're being a complete pain in the ass," Zhane snapped, the last cable letting go of Zordon. They watched as the Dark Fortress reclaimed him.

"We were so close," Andros ground out.

"Just take a breath ok. He said there'd be another chance," Karone said, placing her hand on his arm. He pulled it swiftly from her grip, causing her to bump her injured arm, sending her cringing in pain.

"Nice going," Zhane spat, ushering Karone to the infirmary.

Andros followed them to the infirmary. "You ok?" Zhane asked her smoothing her hair from her face.

"Yeah, It's just sore," Karone whispered. Zhane looked a little relieved and then turned to Andros, angry glare set in. He walked away from Karone and dragged Andros from the infirmary.

"I get that you are mad for losing Zordon, but you didn't have to go and hurt your sister," he said tightly.

"I didn't know she was hurt," Andros shot back.

"Obviously not because I had to save her. You were too busy acting like a dumb ass," Zhane hissed.

"You know what? I'm sick you hanging around my sister, hitting on her every chance you get," Andros ground out.

"At least I'm there for her. You couldn't give a shit," Zhane accused. Without another word Andros swung, landing a punch to Zhane's jaw.

Zhane instantly retaliated with a punch of his own. "Bastard," he hissed.

"You're just jealous," Zhane taunted, punching his friend again. Andros took a step back, landing a roundhouse kick to Zhane's stomach.

"Why would I be jealous of you?" Andros spat. By now the rest of the team had started to gather.

"Oh...I don't know...the fact that I can have any girl I want," Zhane shot back.

"I'd rather be single than be dating four girls at once," Andros sneered, going to kick him again. Zhane grabbed Andros' ankle, flipping him around so he landed on the floor on his back.

Karone wandered out of the infirmary, hearing the scuff.

"See, jealousy. I told you," Zhane shot, attempting to land a kick to Andros' stomach. Andros managed to launch himself from the ground, avoiding Zhane's attempt. TJ was the first one to find them.

"What the heck is wrong with you guys?" he asked. He got no answer as Zhane went flying this time, crashing into the wall.

Karone ran towards Zhane and bent down to him. "Oh my god Zhane," she cried out seeing him hurt. "Are you ok?" she asked him. "Right stupid question," she said immediately.

"Karone, step away from him," Andros said darkly, seeing his sister trying to comfort Zhane.

Karone ignored her older brother, and started to help up Zhane. "Jesus, look what he did to you,"

"I said get away from him," Andros spat, his voice taking on a dangerous quality.

"Would you just grow up? God you're such an asshole," Karone shot at him heatedly.

"I'm fine. He's the one that's going to need a permanent bed in the infirmary," Zhane interjected. He took a step and landed a kick upside Andros' head. The Red Ranger slumped to the ground almost instantly.

"Zhane have you lost your mind!" Ashley shouted, rushing to Andros' side.

Karone glared at Zhane, smacking him on his shoulder, making him wince in pain.

"Ow that hurt," he whined.

"You deserved it," she spat, joining Ashley.

"He's still breathing," Ashley announced.

"Come on, Andros. Wake up," Karone whispered, shaking his arm gently.

"Uh guys...he's bleeding... a lot," Cassie voiced, just noticing the pool of blood spreading out.

"Come on, get him into the infirmary," Carlos instructed. He and TJ did their best to move their fallen friend without hurting him. Karone followed a long and Zhane instantly felt guilt started to wash over him.

"Karone…" he said guiltily, starting to follow them.

"No...just stay away from me," Karone ordered harshly as she shut the door behind her. Zhane stopped as the doors closed. What had he done? He hadn't meant to hurt Andros like that. He thought Andros would have moved. Slowly he made his way back to his room, slowly lowering himself down onto his bed.

Back in the Infirmary Cassie and Ashley were busy trying to stop the flow of blood. Ashley was trying to fight back tears

"It just won't stop," she sobbed.

Karone just stared as her older brother continued to bleed. "I should have just listened and moved out of the way…and not try to comfort Zhane," Karone said guiltily. Ashley turned to Karone.

"This is your not your fault Karone," Ashley said, but went back to trying to stop the blood. "Zhane did this, not you,"

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Karone asked, wanting to do something to save her brother.

Before either Ashley or Cassie could give an answer, Andros' eyes opened and he coughed, trying to sit up.

"Oh my God," Karone gasped, rushing to his side.

"No you need to lay down. You...you're hurt really bad," she breathed.

"What...what happened? I don't remember," Andros babbled.

"Shh...it's ok. You're going to be ok," Karone promised, holding his hand as tightly as she could.

"What happened?" he asked again, still refusing to lie down.

"I'll tell you if you lay back down…" Karone whispered, tears stinging at her eyes. "Please," Seeing Karone so upset, Andros laid back down.

He felt hands wrapping his head. It was then that he realized his head was killing him.

"Zhane sort of... well...kicked you in the head," Karone finally admitted.

"Why?" Andros questioned.

"Because...you were fighting...over me... again," she answered, resting her head on his chest. One of his arms reached up and he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I'm sorry…I don't even know why you guys fight over me, but I do. Its all my fault that you got hurt," she said burying her head into his chest.

"Shh...don't cry, Karone," he breathed. He caught Ashley's eye. She nodded that he could sit up and he did so slowly. He pulled Karone into his lap, just cradling his sister. TJ motioned for the rest of them to leave, giving the siblings some time alone. A little while later Zhane wandered out of his room and ran into Ashley.

"We think he's going to be ok," she said coldly.

"Can I see him?" Zhane asked weakly.

"No. He needs some time to heal. He doesn't remember what happened. You kicked him pretty hard," she answered sharply.

"I thought he would be smart enough to move," Zhane protested.

"Zhane, that is so immature! You stay away from him if you know what is good for you," Ashley snapped at Zhane.

"I really didn't mean to…" Zhane started again.

"Well you did, so just back off," she said walking back into the infirmary.

Zhane had to bite his lip to keep from following her in. Maybe he could try and apologize to Karone. He wandered the ship until he found her sitting in the mess hall by herself.

"Can I sit here?" he asked softly. She looked up at him.

"It's all yours," she answered, getting up.

"Karone wait...I want to apologize," Zhane called.

"I'm not interested Zhane. You could have killed Andros...you're best friend!" she spat.

"Please...I'm trying to apologize. I just...got angry. I shouldn't have done what I did," Zhane stated.

"I just don't think you get it. He could have died!" Karone shouted. Zhane stood, grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her to him.

"I understand that. Believe me, I do. I feel like a total piece of shit. I swear, we won't fight over you anymore," he breathed. Karone looked at him, really wanting to believe that he was truly sorry.

"I don't believe you," Karone whispered, starting to pull away.

"Karone…please, I don't know how to make this right…" Zhane said letting her go. "I feel terrible for what I did, and there is nothing I can say, but I am sorry," Zhane said, tears reaching into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zhane. I just can't do this right now," Karone murmured, pulling her hands from his grasp. He watched her walk away.

That night he waited until everyone else was sleep to sneak into the infirmary to see Andros. Andros laid there, his chest moving up and down but Zhane could tell he wasn't sleeping. He sat down on the side of the bed and Andros' head turned.

"Zhane," he said in a hushed voice.

I'm so sorry. I was...just being a complete asshole...as usual right," Zhane murmured.

"I don't even remember it happening," Andros sighed.

"Yeah well I do. I was jsut so mad that I wasn't thinking," Zhane breathed.

"I honestly thought you'd get out of the way. But you just stood there, didn't even try to defend yourself," Zhane sniffed. Andros reached a hand over and patted Zhane on the shoulder.

"Relax, ok. I don't need everybody looking like they're going to burst out crying. I'll be better in a few days and everything will be fine," Andros assured Zhane.

"No, dude. It won't be ok because I could have killed you," Zhane shot, his voice a little louder.

"Karone said we were fighting over her," Andros blurted.

"Yeah...we both said things we shouldn't have," Zhane told him.

"We do that alot don't we," Andros chuckled.

"Yeah...I guess we do," Zhane answered.

"Well whatever the fight was about... let's just forget it, ok. We're cool," Andros said.


	7. Chapter 7

A day had gone by since Zhane had nearly killed Andros. Tension was still high on the ship. Zhane was trying to avoid everyone. He figured no confrontation was a good thing right now. He had overheard Karone telling TJ that she'd sent down the robot rangers for a few hours, hoping to drain more of Dark Specter's powers. He was presently sitting in his room when there was a knock on the door. He was about to open his mouth when he decided maybe if he said nothing they'd leave him alone.

"Zhane, open up," Andros called.

"What's he doing out of the infirmary?" Zhane murmured to himself. He got up and opened the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked his friend.

"Just came to see how you were," Andros answered.

"Maybe I did more damage than I thought. Come on, you need to go back to the infirmary," Zhane insisted, starting to usher his friend back that way.

"You know…if Ashley sees me talking to you, she is going to go postal on me," Zhane murmured as they reached the infirmary. Andros just smirked as Zhane forced him to lay down on the bed. Zhane started to head back to his room, not really in any mood to talk with Andros. He was still guilt ridden nearly killing him a day ago.

"Wait a sec," Andros said sitting back up.

Zhane slowly turned around.

"What?" he asked.

"You know we're ok, right?" Andros asked.

"I guess," Zhane muttered with a shrug.

"There's nothing to guess about, Zhane. It's in the past. We're cool," Andros pressed.

"Let's just hope you say that when you're back to full strength," his best friend remarked. Andros just sighed at Zhane. "You still can't remember anything from yesterday can you?" Zhane said sadly.

"Not really…" Andros admitted and Zhane sighed.

"Won't be so keen on seeing me if you remember what happened," Zhane mused.

"Everyting will be fine," Andros assured Zhane. He just shrugged again and headed back towards his room. He was halfway there when he heard a very loud, very excited scream.

"We're almost there!" Karone shouted. He slowed his pace, staying out of sight.

"Only ten percent more to drain," she said excitedly.

Zhane wanted to go down and congratulate her, but didn't want to ruin her clearly happy mood. He headed back for his room, just really wanting to be alone. No such luck, he nearly ran into Ashley. "Sorry," he murmured, and attempted to walk away, but Ashley stopped him. She didn't look as pissed as she was the day before, so Zhane stayed, seeing what she wanted.

"Look…Zhane," she said softly. "I know you are really guilty about yesterday…and me yelling at you didn't help, and I wanted to apologize,"

"Don't apologize, I deserve to have everyone angry with me. I nearly killed Andros…and yet he is acting like nothing happened," Zhane snapped.

"Well he doesn't remember...maybe that's a good thing?" Ashley offered half-heartedly.

"I guess. I sort of wish he did. Then I could just deal with him wanting to strangle me," Zhane sighed.

"Did you hear Karone's news?" Ashley asked.

"Who didn't hear it? She screamed loud enough for half the star system to hear," he said with a small chuckle.

"She wasn't that loud," Ashley giggled, glad to see Zhane at least look slightly normal.

"Loud enough," he said with a shrug.

"I was going to say something to her but I figured she'd just blow me off," Zhane explained.

"She'll forgive you," Ashley tried to assure him. Deep down she wasn't all that sure herself.

"Thanks," he muttered, heading past her to continue on his way back to his room. Ashley sighed as she watched Zhane walk away. She walked over to Karone and gave her a big smile.

"Congrats," Ashley said with a grin seeing how happy Karone was.

"Thanks," Karone said. She looked at Ashley strangely, "Ok…what is going on with you? Dark Specter is almost dead!" she said happily.

"I know... and believe me I'm really happy about that," Ashley answered.

"It's just...well never mind. I don't want to upset you," she sighed.

"No, really, Ash. What's bugging you?" Karone probed.

"I just feel bad for treating Zhane like dirt yesterday. I mean...he is really sorry. I think he'd rather spend the rest of his life locked in his room than face us after what happened. But Andros seems to forgive me...of course with temporary memory loss I guess that makes sense," Ashley rambled.

"If you're asking me to forgive him, I can't. I finally know what Andros felt when I got kidnapped. He lost me. And now I know that feeling. And it scares me to death," Karone stated firmly.

"I know it's scary. We all are scared. But do you think you can eventually find it in your heart to forgive him?" Ashley begged. She hated to see Zhane so hurt.

"We'll see," Karone answered, heading off towards the bridge. Ashley shook her head, heading towards the Infirmary. She opened the door and pulled up a chair next to Andros.

"Hey Ashley," Andros said giving her a smile. Once he saw a serious look in her eyes, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Um…I dunno if I should be telling you this, but I am going to anyway," Ashley said after a moment. "Zhane is really depressed…and it is more than nearly killing you yesterday…it was Karone…she is refusing to forgive him,"

"Why wouldn't she want to forgive him? I thought she liked him," Andros asked. Ashley sighed. Well at least he remembered something.

"Because she almost lost you. She's really scared and honestly I can kind of see why she doesn't want to reconcile just yet. You're still pretty weak and I think until you get better she's going to stay scared," Ashley admitted.

"She doesn't have to be scared…" Andros sighed. "I am alive…and I am getting strong again…"

"You were terrified for her when she went back to the Dark Fortress….and she is very much like you when it comes to protecting the only other family she has ever known," Ashley reminded him.

"I wish I could talk to her. Do you think maybe you could convince her to come see me?" he asked.

"I don't know. I can try. But I think she's still shaken," Ashley answered. She gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before heading out again. She was on a mission. She headed for Karone's quarters, knocking on the door.

"I'm busy," Karone called out.

"Karone, come on. Open up... please?" Ashley called.

"If it is about me apologizing to Zhane…" Karone sighed angrily, opening her door.

"I was just going to tell you that Andros wanted to talk to you," Ashley said putting her hands up.

"About…." Karone pressed on. Ashley nearly let out a sigh of frustration, but managed to stop herself.

"He just wants to talk to you, I don't know about what,"

Karone looked at her friend for a minute before answering. Did she really want to talk to Andros right now?

"Ok..." she finally mumbled, slipping from her room. Ashley tried to give her a reassuring smile but it came out looking more like a grimace. Karone slowly made her way down the corridor towards the Infirmary. She knocked a couple of times. She was about to open her mouth to speak when the doors slid open and she caught Andros slip back under the covers. She shot him a weird look.

"Ashley's have a fit if she knew I got out of bed," he said, patting the bed next to him. She bit her lip as she joined him.

"She said you wanted to talk?" Karone offered after a minute or two of silence.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Tired I guess. What about you?" she answered.

"I'm healing," he told her, giving her a smile. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a couple minutes, and Karone started to fidget a little.

"Andros…please tell me you didn't want to talk about Zhane…" Karone let out after a minute. Seeing the look on Andros's face, she knew it was about Zhane. "Andros…I am not forgiving him. He nearly killed you…"

"Karone, he didn't. Shouldn't that be what matters?" Andros protested.

"You're just saying that because you don't remember," Karone grumbled, shrugging her brother's arm off.

"Why does everyone keep making that such a big deal," Andros complained.

"Andros…I did not like the feeling that came when I saw the pool of blood around you…I got really scared," Karone started, tears entering her eyes. "And the last thing I said to you was calling you an asshole before Zhane kicked you upside your head…"

Andros tried to wrap his arm around his clearly distressed sister, but she shrugged him off. "And you are acting like you and Zhane were just…sparring or something!" she said her voice getting louder. "It wasn't nothing…so please stop acting like it was nothing at all!"

"Karone, I swear Zhane and I are fine. We've put it behind us," Andros assured her.

"No...you only think you're fine. Just wait until it all comes back, you won't be so keen to act like nothing happened," his sister shouted back.

"So I am not going to forgive him and nothing you say will convince me otherwise," she spat with a note of finality in her voice.

"Karone…" Andros sighed. "I have been trying to remember what happened yesterday…and I have managed to get bits and pieces. If I seem to recall correctly…I hurt you right before the fight started. Not sure how, but I remember Zhane taking you back to the infirmary. Zhane really cares about you Karone…" Andros sighed.

"You didn't mean to. It was an accident. Everyone just overreacted," Karone whispered, eyes cast downwards.

"Then if it was an accident, why can't you forgive him?" Andros asked.

"Because I just can't," Karone snapped, standing and walking out of the room. Andros hoped that Karone would calm down and forgive Zhane soon. He could tell she liked him as much as he liked her.

Karone sighed angrily as she stalked away from the infirmary. Two people telling her she should forgive Zhane for nearly killing her older brother. She nearly crashed into Zhane who was coming out of the Mess Hall.

"Sorry," Zhane mumbled, and tried to walk away from her, clearly seeing how angry she looked already.

Karone glared at him but then thought about what Andros had said about Zhane. He'd stood up for her. He cared about her. Zhane continued to move away from her.

"Wait," Karone sighed. Zhane stopped dead in his tracks. He would have turned around to face her but he was afraid she'd try and punch him.

"I said I was sorry for bumping into you," he muttered, not wanting to be here right now. Karone put a hand on his shoulder, and gently turned him around. She bit her lip trying to decide what she should say. Deep down she had wanted to forgive Zhane for what had happened.

Instead of saying anything she just pulled a very surprised Zhane in for a hug.

Zhane wasn't sure what to do. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to take it as an apology for fear she'd accuse of misinterpreting the gesture.

"You ok?" he whispered softly. She didn't answer. She just pressed her head against his shoulder, holding on tightly.

"I know you hate me right now. Believe me, I hate me too," he murmured. Karone pulled away a little and wiped at her eyes.

"I don't hate you Zhane…" Karone whispered.

"I don't see why not. I almost killed your brother…my best friend…" Zhane said turning away from her.

"You didn't mean to...I realize that now. I just...I thought he was going to die. I thought I was going to lose him," Karone stammered, fighting back tears.

"I can't imagine what was going through your mind," Zhane breathed.

"But he's going to be ok...and if we're going to defeat Dark Specter and save Zordon... then we need to be a team. And team mates forgive each other," she added.

"So does this mean you forgive me?" he asked, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.

"Only if you forgive yourself first," she answered, trying to hide a smile.

"I can try," he breathed. Karone finally let out the smile she had been hiding, and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"Good," Karone said wrapping her arms around his neck.


	8. Chapter 8

Another week had slowly passed for the team and Andros was mostly back to normal. He'd finally remembered most of the fight between he and Zhane but he still forgave his friend. The Robot Rangers were currently down on Earth, helping civilians, Karone once more glued to the computer screen watching as the meter slowly inched towards 100.

"Karone," Andros called, making her jump about six inches off her chair.

"Don't do that!" she squealed.

"Sorry. I was just wondering how it was going?" he said, sitting down next to her.

"Well everything they do gets us one step closer to defeating Dark Specter," she sighed.

"Yeah…" Seeing her tired face, he sighed, "Karone, please don't tell me you pulled another all nighter..." Karone stifled a yawn, and just rolled her eyes at her older brother's protective attitude.

"Of course not…" she lied through slightly clenched teeth, her face focused on the screen still. Andros saw through the obvious lie, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I did get some sleep…"

"Really?" Andros asked raising an eyebrow.

"I am not getting off…" she said in a stubborn voice, knowing her lie wasn't plausible enough.

I promise I'll tell you when they've drained all of his power," he whispered, tugging on her arm.

"It's kind of like New Years," she stated. He looked at her in confusion. What was New Years?

"What is…" he started to ask.

"It's like a holiday they celebrate on Earth. It signifies a new year. They have big parties," his sister explained.

"Oh," he murmured.

"It's just so close that I don't want to miss it," she sighed. Andros nodded, understanding why his sister would want to stay.

"Ok…but you need to get some rest soon ok?" Andros told her, patting her shoulder.

"So do you…" Karone reminded him, "You should be on bed rest still," Karone sighed.

"I'm fine Karone," Andros said as she snickered.

"Are you two bickering who needs to go to bed more?" Zhane asked a smirk on his face, as he walked in overhearing the conversation.

"Sort of," Andros answered, motioning for him to join them.

"Whoa, looks like they're almost done. So what happens when he's gone?" Zhane questioned.

"I mean we still have to deal with Darconda and..." he started to add.

"You can say it. We have to deal with Ecliptor," Karone stated and Zhane nodded.

"Well I think Darconda only has a few lives left," Karone murmured.

"How many more?" Andros interjected.

"I'm pretty sure it's only like two. We should be able to handle him," she answered.

"Do you think once Dark Specter is gone, Ecliptor will be back to normal?" Zhane asked.

"I hope so," she muttered. Zhane put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. "I don't want really want to face him again…" she sighed to herself.

"I know you don't. Maybe we won't have to," he offered. He shot Andros a worried look. They both knew how hard this was for Karone. Suddenly there was a very loud beeping, causing all three of them to jump. Their eyes flew to the monitor where the meter was now blinking 'complete'.

"We did it!" she screamed, the rest of the team running in at the sudden noise.

"What happened?" Cassie asked.

"We did it. We destroyed Dark Specter," she exclaimed. Ashley pulled Karone in a hug, glad to see her plan worked.

"This is great," Ashley squealed. She gave Andros a big smile also pulling him in for a hug.

"So…what is going to happen to the robots we created?" TJ asked curious now that they really have no use for them.

"Uh...well I guess we could keep them around. I mean we never know when we'll need them again," Karone mumbled. She hadn't really thought about what they'd do with them.

"That works. We can keep them in the engine room," Andros suggested. Suddenly DECA piped up.

"Rangers, incoming transmission," she alerted.

"On screen," Andros called and Darconda's ugly features appeared on the screen.

"Thank you for destroying Dark Specter," he sneered.

"We weren't doing it for you. You slimy little pile of..." Karone started but felt two firm hands on her shoulders.

"You're next, Darconda," Andros promised and cut the transmission short.

"Andros…let go of my arms please?" Karone asked. Andros gently let go of his sister, and she looked a little afraid. "Karone…"

"I'm fine…" Karone whispered. "I think I am going to go lay down…"

They all watched her go. Andros knew she wasn't going to lay down but he was trying to give her space and not step on her toes so much.

"She's not going to lay down," Zhane sighed.

"Well probably not. She's probably going after Darconda. But we have to trust her," Andros replied.

"Whoa, this coming from the guy who used to flip out about everything," Zhane teased.

"Well maybe kicking me in the head was a good thing," he said with a smirk.

Karone slipped down to the engine room, activating the Robot Rangers.

"I want you to go and find Darconda. Destroy him and when he comes back let us know and we'll make sure he's gone for good," she told them in a whisper.

"As you wish," the pink robot answered. They disappeared and Karone couldn't help but smile to herself. She suddenly had a thought and raced back to the bridge.

"I thought you were laying down," Andros remarked.

"I was...well I had an idea. We can try scanning for Zordon again. Dark Specter shouldn't be able to cloak him anymore. And we can probably get him to safety," she explained in one large breath. Andros immediately began to have DECA start scanning for Zordan again, determined not to lose Zordon this time.

DECA ccontinued to scan while Karone paced back and forth nervously. She was hoping that the Robot Rangers would be ok against Darconda. After what felt like hours there was a blip sound.

"Incoming transmission from the Robot Rangers," DECA announced. Both Andros and Zhane shot Karone a look but she just shrugged with a small smile.

"We have defeated Darconda," the red Robot Ranger informed them.

"That's great. Return to the ship," Karone answered.

"I knew there was a reason to keep them around," Cassie interjected.

"Andros, I am picking up signs of Zordon on... Earth," the computer also announced.

"Ecliptor is probably going to be down there…" Andros gently reminded Karone. "We understand if you want to stay behind…" Karone stayed silent for a moment, and was glad that he wasn't trying to force her to stay behind like he normally would.

"No, that's ok. Its better to face him now than wait until later. I'd rather just get it over with now. So we can move on with our lives," she answered. Andros smiled as they all headed for the teleportation room.

"You ready to end this?" he asked the team and they all nodded. They teleported down to Earth already morphed and saw Ecliptor guarding Zordon. Ecliptor eyed the Power Rangers warily.

"About time you got here…" he sighed.

"Ecliptor…" Karone started, but felt Zhane's hand on her shoulder as she walked towards him. Ecliptor didn't say anything in response to Karone and she knew that Ecliptor was not himself still.

"So nice of you to show up, Rangers," Darconda's voice rang out and he apepared from behind a clump of trees.

"Didn't bring your little robotic friends?" he asked.

"This ends right here and now, Darconda. Dark Specter is gone and so are you," Andros spat.

"I'm touched, Red Ranger," Darconda hissed, drawing his sword. Andros called for his weapon and the two went at it. The rest of the team turned to Ecliptor.

"Five against one. Not very good odds," Zhane called out.

"You are no match for me, Silver Ranger," Ecliptor's hollow voice rang out. With that the Rangers charged him. Ecliptor knocked Zhane out of the way, and started for Karone. Ashley and Cassie blocked Ecliptor's way and pushed him back.

Karone helped Zhane up, "You ok?" she asked him.

"Yeah…" Zhane nodded. He hoped Karone was doing ok, considering they were fighting Ecliptor still.

"Ecliptor, you don't want them. You know this between you and me," she called out. Zhane looked at her like she was crazy. He blinked a few times and looked at her again.

"You must leave. You are in danger here, Princess," he said, his voice back to normal.

"I'm not leaving, Ecliptor. Not without Zordon," she said firmly. He nodded and motioned for him to join her.

"Where do you think you're going with her?" Zhane shouted.

"This does not concern you," he answered and he, Karone and Zordon disappeared. They reappeared on the Mega Ship in the engine room.

"Thank you," Karone breathed, hugging him tightly.

"We must hurry if you want to save your brother and your friends," he told her.

"We can save you too," she whispered.

"I am evil, Karone. You are not. I do not deserve to be saved," he told her.

"Yes, you do. Without you I wouldn't be alive today. Please...let us help you," she begged. He sighed and just shook his head, sending them down to Earth. Upon arrival he drew his sword and attacked Darconda visciously. Darconda turned to look at his enemy.

"What are you doing?" he rasped.

"What I should have done long ago," Ecliptor roared and continued hacking until Darconda finally exploded for the final time.

"I'd say thanks but I don't want to lose any body parts," Zhane muttered. That didn't stop Andros from slowly walking towards Ecliptor.

"Thank you," he said, extending his hand. Ecliptor stared at him.

"For keeping my sister alive for all those years," he said. Ecliptor seemed shocked by how Andros was reacting, but numbly took his extended hand, shaking it.

"Well Zordon is on the ship so he iss safe. We defeated Dark Specter and Darconda. Now what?" Karone asked.

"You need to disband all of Dark Specter's alliances," Ecliptor said.

"Can't you do that...I mean I really don't want to be Astronema anymore," Karone pleaded.

"For you, I will do anything, Princess," he said and disappeared. Karone felt arms encircling her and looked up to see her brother.

"I'm glad things worked out," he breathed.

"Me too," Karone agreed.

"I have a feeling he'll be there for us if we ever need him," she added.

"How do you figure that?" Zhane asked as they teleported back to the ship.

"Because somewhere deep down in him he cares about me and knows I'd do the same for him," she explained.

"So Zordon. Can we take you any place in particular?" Ashley asked. Zordon gave them all a smile.

"Home," he answered. She happily set the coordinates and they headed off, the Earth growing smaller almost instantly.


End file.
